Our history

The Programme was initially established in 2023 as a response to the introduction of the Health and Social Care Skilled Worker Visa, to ensure Care Providers were able to access skilled and talented migrant labour to fill the large number of vacancies in the care sector.

Funded nationally by the Department of Health and Social Care, the programme aimed to make sure that services had access to this new talent pipeline, and that they felt confident complying with the necessary sponsorship/visa requirements.

As time has progressed, the focus of the project has moved to support the care workers themselves.  Unfortunately, many migrant workers have become displaced due to their sponsor (employer) having their sponsorship license revoked, leaving them without employment.  The programme has helped hundreds of workers find new sponsored employment in the care sector.

Demand for care and support continues to rise, the international workforce has helped increase capacity, reduce workforce turnover and reduce vacancy rates providing vital care and support to the residents of Yorkshire and Humber.

Year Four: 2026/27

The focus continues to be the same as Year 2 & Year 3; supporting displaced care workers to find new sponsorship, whilst also supporting care providers to access talented migrant labour in a compliant way.

Year Three: 2025/26

Continuing the work started in Year 2, our project to date has supported over 830 displaced care workers based in Yorkshire and Humber to find new sponsored employment in the care sector.

Our work focusses on matching displaced workers to eligible care vacancies available in the region, whilst also providing advice and guidance on sponsorship requirements to both workers and care providers.  The programme has supported with the costs associated with sponsorship through a series of bursaries, to help cover the cost of Visa’s (worker bursary) and Immigration Skills Charge and Certificate of Sponsorship Costs (provider/employer).  Over 700 bursaries have been provided collectively to workers and providers.

Year Two: 2024/25

Yorkshire and Humber secured £1.5m funding in 2024 and the regional service to support displaced sponsored workers in the care sector begun.

The aim was to find alternative sponsorship for displaced sponsored workers as a result of care providers sponsorship licence revocation and improve capacity of ethical and compliant international recruitment to the care sector.

A matching service was established, so that displaced workers could refer themselves to their local region within Yorkshire and Humber, with view to being ‘matched’ to care vacancies eligible for sponsorship, in the geographic area they live in.

This website was established as part of Year 2, to;

1. To provide advice and guidance to sponsored migrants, and to signpost help if and when they require thi
2. To provide displaced migrant workers with the opportunity to refer themselves for support to help find new sponsored employment in care.
3. To provide employers in the care sector with tips to have an ethical, sustainable and successful approach to embracing sponsored migrants within their workforce today and into the future.

Year One: 2023/24

Yorkshire and Humber secured £1.38m funding in 2023 and the Yorkshire and Humber International Recruitment Project was formed. Recruitment of 360 care workers into care providers in the region, with an ethical and sustainable approach.

Our Achievements

Provision of 382 bursaries to care providers for the recruitment and retention of sponsor migrants into the care sector across the region. Providers completed ethical recruitment training, signed-up to ethical recruitment and pastoral support to workers to ensure that workers had a positive experience of working in the UK care sector and became a sustained part of the workforce.

Ultimately the programme created additional care capacity.